Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs Eyes Toronto for Its Digital City

Post by pm90 » Wed, May 10, 2017, 3:05 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #44

vtange wrote: post #15

I can't help but notice right now that Toronto's name has been increasingly pushed as some sort of "next tech centre" (well, many cities in the world want to be something like that). Can someone who's actually there fill me in on what's happening there? How does Toronto's scene compare to say, New York or Seattle?

Toronto has had a pretty good high-tech scene since the mid 90's. The area around the old carpet factory and Front street as well as a good part of King street going into town have housed and are housing many high tech companies. Front 151 was a major hub for North America and allowed co-location and cheap fiber so a lot of DC activity sprang up around it and that in turn led to many start-ups choosing Toronto. The f…

Post by easilyBored » Wed, May 10, 2017, 3:14 PM UTC

sanswork wrote: post #8

easilyBored wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can't just flip a switch and make it happen. If I were Toronto I'd make them put a decent amount of money in an escrow account so the project is finished no matter what. But then this is Google's tech, so if they leave not sure how it works.

So your concern isn't the ongoing operation but that they start working with waterfront TO on these 12 blocks and leave before their ideas are implemented? Why would the city require more of them than any other developer? Any development has a chance of falling before completion.

Post by potatolicious » Wed, May 10, 2017, 3:15 PM UTC

mistermann wrote: post #85

aaaawweeeee wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you have strong unions who can wrestle with the tech strong-arms, tech companies, or any company, don't have to pander to your basic necessity for a decent working life. The unions in the US are pathetic, and corrupted by the mafia, and workers are suffering humiliations because of that. Here's a tragicomic anecdote that illustrates my point: Recently in Germany, Tesla has been struggling with the German union…

Tesla workers are revolting? Why isn't this in the news?

Post by dghughes » Wed, May 10, 2017, 3:38 PM UTC

52-6F-62 wrote: post #94

hourislate wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are 1000's of underemployed CS Grads earning a pittance compared to their American counterparts. You get access to a large talent pool that makes less than what you would pay an H1B person. ATM there is about a 37% difference in CAD-USD. So that is just a bonus. It is also Canada's biggest city and business capital. The only real cons is the price of real estate and high taxes but Google has all kinds of money…

I had to try and explain this to my girlfriend and her visiting sister last night. They're from Victoria and Vancouver and want us to move there. I can barely afford to live in Toronto on my salary, never mind Vancouver and the cost of moving across the country. To my knowledge -- in spite of the higher cost of living -- Vancouver-based software professionals don't make any more than they do here. That and most peopl…

Post by snrplfth » Wed, May 10, 2017, 3:39 PM UTC

paulgb wrote: post #93

tormeh wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The canadian dollar is about 20% less than USD, so VC dollars go further How expensive a nation is and the exchange rate of its currency is independent.

Yes, this fallacy always bothers me. The Canadian Toonie trades strongly against the US dollar; using the half-Toonie as a benchmark is an arbitrary choice.